The first of the Foreigner novels I've read, and really enjoyed it. Cherryh does a great job of presenting a story that's clearly a part of a larger whole, but in such a way that the reader isn't either overwhelmed with background information dumps or left constantly floundering without necessary knowledge. Plus, the theme of communication and linguistics among wildly different cultures (alien species, in this instance) is fascinating and well-presented. I'm going to keep an eye out for more of the books in this series.